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Larry Gotkin - handmade knives, edged weapons & jewelry About the Artist

I was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, and am a 1981 graduate of the University of Arizona School of Architecture in Tucson. I have been practicing architecture in Tucson since 1981.

Scrimshaw became a hobby after I received a small scrimmed tooth in 1979. The first piece was a Gerber knife that I rehandled with Micarta (picture below — pretty crude!).

Over the years, I produced many pieces of jewelry and knives, usually tearing commercial knives down and rehandling with Micarta or ivory. A book of knife making taught me the rudiments of acid etching and leather sheath-making. During the eighties, many blades from Bob Engnath's House of Muzzleloading were purchased, constructed, and sheathed.

My first piece - pretty crude!There were several years of hiatus while working and raising a son. A few years ago, the rusty blade blanks hanging in the workshop — including two Engnath blades over ten years old — finally shamed me into starting up again. One of the blades was a tanto style, and that led me to attempting my own daisho (that and the fact I couldn't afford to buy anyone else's).

Other hobbies have included oil painting, acrylics, color pencil drawings, and model-making. I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and Tang Soo Do, and practice the long and short staff, escrima sticks, and sword.

Please click the Commissions link here or at the top of any page to find out how to commission a custom piece.

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© Larry Gotkin 2002 -
Custom handmade knives, edged weapons, & jewelry
Photography by Larry Gotkin
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Updated: December 3, 2007 Disclaimer